Blairite MP. Believes in solutions that work for people of all classes in providing better public services, without ideological dogma on private/public. Believes that government can be an instrument of good and can enable people to better themselves. Abiding contempt for extremes of Thatcherism. Believes in the ability of the market to create jobs and to drive up standards, but at the same time believes in the role the State can and must play to lift up those stuck at the sharp end. Internationalist; pro-UN reform; Atlanticist; pro-EU but suspicious of the federalist agenda.